History books do not record all the facts of history. Editors are prone to delete events they deem to be less than influential in the progress of mankind; consequently human interest stories of the past can be lost.
It is only through the records of family papers and oft-told tales, handed down generation by generation, that the following legend of Cantwell da Jeanci is known to a scant number of people but is here made available to the public.
Cantwell da Jeanci was a dreamer with a desire to improve the human condition of the populace in 1506, but she was a dreamer with the technical ability to make those dreams take practical form.
Jeanci observed the birds of the air and dreamed of the pleasure flying could bring to her countrymen. Although the study of aerodynamics was not a part of the study offered to young women of the sixteenth century, she succeeded in drawing plans for her "Soaring Wing". Her brother helped her to construct the heavenly device. Jeanci was ecstatic with her invention. She envisioned the capabilities for travel to distant lands, transportation over rugged terrain and the sheer delight of soaring through the skies. She saw herself as an instrument for bringing happiness to the nation.
After several test flights from her home to the neighboring village, she was ready to approach the powerful Medici family for funding for the "Soaring Wing" for mass production when a friend told her of the great and famous Leonardo da Vinci, who had also drawn plans for a flying machine.
Jeanci was dashed. Leonardo had not copied from her, nor had she heard of his work in regard to flying, but they had both received the inspiration to put men into the air with controlled motion. It was evident to Jeanci that she could not compete with da Vinci. His reputation, his contacts, his acknowledged genius, all and each, outweighed her ability to attract a sponsor or a manufacturer.
Jeanci abandoned her project to produce the "Soaring Wing" and simply satisfied herself by flying back and forth to see the shops in Rome. Each time, she hid the "Soaring Wing" in the woods outside the city, so no one would ask her for a ride. Liability was a problem even in those days.
Years later, when da Vinci still had not done anything with producing his Flying Machine, other than the preliminary drawings, she consoled herself that the time was not ripe anyway. The public was not ready to accept the new concept of flying. Da Vinci and Jeanci were both ahead of their times. Many centuries would pass before flying could become available to every human being for the price of the fare.
If personality, motor ability and the desire to dream can be inherited, perhaps some aspects of fate also dribble down through the generations.
I, Jean Cantwell, desiring to alleviate one of the greatest frustrations of oboists, dreamed of bringing happiness to my colleagues by designing and building, with the assistance of Carl Votaw, an adjustable thumb rest, called "The Jean Slide"TM. My joy was unbounded when the slide was attached to my Loree oboe. I saw myself as an instrument of happiness for oboists everywhere for generations to come.
Finding a sponsor to underwrite production did not seem to be necessary. There are not enough oboe players in the world to warrant spending the money for patents, tooling and advertising for a single oboe accessory project. The only reward would be the knowledge of being the first to bring thumb relief to fellow oboists.
The self rewarding glow lasted five days. On that fifth day, I received a form letter advertising an adjustable thumb rest by Loree. The estimable leader in the field had beaten me to the heavenly device. I had not taken their idea nor they mine. The time seemed to be at hand for an advancement in oboe technology. The idea was floating in the atmosphere, and we had both grabbed it simultaneously. I withdrew my thoughts of publicizing the "Jean Slide""; however 1 have received encouragement to investigate the success of the Loree moveable thumb rest for a story.
With a reasonable amount of effort over a six month period of time, in reading music publications, calling and writing music stores and manufacturers, and in talking with other oboists and instrumentalists, I have not been able to find an example, a photograph or a description of the Loree thumb rest, and only one person remembers hearing of one. Like the Da Vinci drawings, the idea does not seem to have caught on. Are Loree and I ahead of our time? Will the true value of the heavenly device languish for centuries before its rediscovery? That cannot be permitted to happen. Oboists need relief now.
Having started playing the saxophone at seven and oboe at age ten, I was immediately aware of the contrast in the awkward stretch of right hand fingers in playing the oboe. I felt the situation would be relieved as my hands grew. Perhaps in response to the exercise my hands received or in answer to my wishful thinking or inherited genes, I have long fingers, but the awkwardness of the right hand position placement on oboe remains the same, as it does for a large percentage of my colleagues. In time, I attributed the problem to the placement of the thumb rest. Although its location seemed to be a tortuous contraption, I rationalized it surely was placed according to careful, scientific study of the anatomy of the hand. In subsequent years, it seemed more probable that manufacturers located the screws of the thumb rest in the most convenient place for themselves, below the metal lining of the second joint where the tenon of the top joint is received. Drilling holes into the thin wood section surrounding the metal joint could pose a problem.
There are these advantages in having an adjustable thumb rest:
1 . For student oboists, the thumb rest can be located in the best position for small hands and changed as the hands grow.
2. Placement can be tailored to accommodate
the size of each player's right hand.
3. For advanced students and professionals who play the oboe many hours daily, a minute adjustment of the thumb rest can relieve fatigue in the same manner that an adjustment in the height and tilt of the driver's seat in an automobile can relieve fatigue on a long drive.
It is not advisable to remove the thumb rest on any oboe, drill holes and relocate. Do not tamper with the possibility of splitting the wood by indiscriminately boring holes in either plastic or wood. Caution is strongly advised. To have repositioned the screws as many times as was needed to establish the best locations for me would have been disastrous for my oboe. The slide has accommodated my needs.
I had expected up to three quarters of an inch rise above the original position would be correct for my hand, but it was much too high to reach the c sharp key either with ease or precision. My comfort zone lies between six and thirteen millimeters above the original. Starting at ten millimeters is right for my hand through about an hour of practice. Lowering two millimeters or so gives me a fresh boost for more practice. I shall continue to experiment with different locations to discover the best for maximum technical facility.
In attaching the "Jean Slide"TM to my Loree oboe, I felt as adventurous as Indiana Jones.
True, my life was not in danger, but maybe the oboe was. I considered the fate of the famous pianist-composer who paralyzed his hand with a device to exercise his third and fourth fingers, and I accepted the possibility of ridicule to threaten my reputation, but the excitement of overcoming the frustration of oboist's fatigue overruled any timidity.
Boldness is no longer necessary to achieve the flexibility offered by using a movable thumb rest. Apparently they can be purchased. In spite of numerous inquiries, this author cannot give either a price nor a description of the device produced by Loree, but if you wish to alleviate one of the problems of playing oboe, investigate the cost and availability through your favorite music dealer.
Selmer (Paris) offers an adjustable thumb rest on clarinets. In communication with their marketing manager, he says the company has chosen not to offer the same mechanism on oboes. It would be interesting to know the response to the device on clarinets. Apparently there is no demand for making the change in oboes. Perhaps there is no demand because no one is aware it could be done.
In all humility, the "Jean Slide"" is not as significant as the Heimlich Maneuver or Da Vinci's drawings for an air machine, but it is a paradisical mechanism for me.
Afterword...
Jean
Cantwell studied at Northwestern University, the University of
Southern California, and the University of Missouri. She has been
a member of the faculties of Southwest Missouri State University
at Springfield; the School of the Ozarks at Point Lookout, Missouri;
Stephens College at Columbia, Missouri; the Evangel College at
Springfield. She has performed numerous recitals on oboe and saxophone,
and has published a series of twenty-nine articles, Teaching Oboe
Skills, in the Woodwind, Brass & Percussion magazine from
1983 through 1985. She has also been interviewed by Barbara Walters
on the Today show, and has recorded "Jean Cantwell Plays
Student Oboe Solos". She was secretary of the International
Double Reed Society in its earliest years, and is a member of
many other professional organizations, most significantly the
United Federation of Doll Clubs. She is listed in The World's
Who's Who of Women.